"The Memorandum of Association is a charter of a company". Discuss. Also, explain in brief the contents of Memorandum of Association.

The Memorandum of Association of company is in fact its charter; it defines its constitution and the scope of the powers of the company with which it has been established under the Act. It is the very foundation on which the whole edifice of the company is built.\nObject of registering a memorandum of association:\n➢ It contains the object for which the company is formed and therefore identifies the possible scope of its operations beyond which its actions cannot go.\n➢ It enables shareholders, creditors and all those who deal with company to know what its powers are and what activities it can engage in. A memorandum is a public document under Section 399 of the Companies Act, 2013. Consequently, every person entering into a contract with the company is presumed to have the knowledge of the conditions contained therein.\n➢ The shareholders must know the purposes for which his money can be used by the company and what risks he is taking in making the investment.\nA company cannot depart from the provisions contained in the memorandum however imperative may be the necessity for the departure. It cannot enter into a contract or engage in any trade or business, which is beyond the power confessed on it by the memorandum. If it does so, it would be ultra vires the company and void.\nContents of the memorandum: The memorandum of a company shall state—\na) the name of the company (Name Clause) with the last word “Limited” in the case of a public limited company, or the last words “Private Limited” in the case of a private limited company. This clause is not applicable on the companies formed under section 8 of the Act.\nb) the State in which the registered office of the company (Registered Office clause) is to be situated;\nc) the objects for which the company is proposed to be incorporated and any matter considered necessary in furtherance thereof (Object clause);\nd) the liability of members of the company (Liability clause), whether limited or unlimited\ne) the amount of authorized capital (Capital Clause) divided into share of fixed amounts and the number of shares with the subscribers to the memorandum have agreed to take, indicated opposite their names, which shall not be less than one share. A company not having share capital need not have this clause.\nf) the desire of the subscribers to be formed into a company. The Memorandum shall conclude with the association clause. Every subscriber to the Memorandum shall take at least one share, and shall write against his name, the number of shares taken by him.